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Sunday, June 28, 2009

Free day

I groped my way out of Silverthorne this morning along a series of confusing bike paths. Just when I thought i was home free, I came up on the tail end of a large breast cancer awareness walk. For nearly 10 miles, I weaved through a parade of people wearing pink shirts and waving balloons shaped like breasts. At first I cheered them on, but after four miles, I began to feel herd weary. I blew through Breckenridge and ran into my third human traffic jam up Boreas Pass, with Sunday drivers and bikers crowding the narrow road.

I dropped down the pass into much more lonely country, wide open country without even a tree to pee behind. I was slammed by a couple heavy thunderstorms, dropping hail and mixing up mud. I was pretty muddy when I rolled into Hartsel, which was teeming with bicycle tourists traveling the trans-America route. Everyone was curious about my mountain bike and muddy state, so I spent more than an hour chatting with fellow travelers, including a vehicle-supported group traveling cross-country to raise awareness about affordable housing. They weren't very impressed when I told them I was averaging 100 miles a day. Sigh. Roadies just don't understand.

Still, human contact is a good thing. I returned to lonely country to climb a couple more small passes, and then dropped 3,000 feet into Salida on the most breathtakingly scenic road. Sunlight filtered through curtains of scattered showers over a skyline of 14,000-foot peaks as I buzzed around the narrow edges of sandstone outcroppings. When I reached Salida, I realized that I felt totally fresh, like the 115-mile day didn't even take anything out of me. It felt like a free day. I decided to soak it in and enjoy it, because I'm certain to not get any more of those. :-)

34 comments:

Jill I just have such huge admiration for you. To average 100 miles a day off road in those conditions is amazing. And you also have time to write up your exploits...all the very best, I'll be following you. Dave

I cringed when you wrote about the supported group raising money for affordable housing. I went coast-to-coast last summer with a group for just that purpose and was worried it was my people that were not friendly to you. But then I remembered that my team is going from Michigan to Florida this year. They escaped a finger-wagging.

Not impressed? Sure, we did 100 mile days, but we had it so posh, and we were done by lunchtime. Count this roadie as one who is VERY impressed even though - admittedly - I don't understand, as you say.

Congratulations on your progress so far, may you stay safe and continue to meet good people along the way!

Awesome job Jill! A couple of us were up on Boreas Pass this past Saturday riding from Kenosha Pass over to Breckenridge and then over to Como. Sorry we missed seeing you but keep it up, your doing awesome!

wow, so many comments on your blog lately its become more of a bboard then a means of communication but I wanted to say it's great to read your posts here on the GDT because they give such a unique perspective.

For example, your freewheel scare.

*Only* 30 miles into a 130+ mile stretch of desolation... and that reminder of the thin line that separates success from crisis. Walking out 30 miles isn't really an option

And this post... a sort of surreal day packed with happenings, unexpected coincidences (RAAM was it?) and lots and lots of people. This right in the middle of 24 days of grueling isolated riding. Most have been fun but surreal. Though cool events like this when out touring always give me a bit of an odd feeling. It's like walking into some one's living room saying hello, witnessing an odd bit of their life as if you're invisible and walking on. I find the "culture shock" is a lot less uneasy when I just take a time out in said situations, chat it up, give it due time and appreciation before moving on. Of course, in a race... maybe I'd just blow through. Hard to say.

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